


At the Edge of the Abyss

by silveryink



Series: Tales of Tomorrow [1]
Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Temporary Character Death, The Amber Spyglass Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:20:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21716761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveryink/pseuds/silveryink
Summary: "Belacqua? No, you are Lyra Silvertongue."An old friend's declaration comes true once more as the light in the gloom in the land of the dead.
Relationships: Lyra Belacqua & Lee Scoresby
Series: Tales of Tomorrow [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565455
Comments: 2
Kudos: 96





	1. Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> This is a mostly book-compliant story, so there are major spoilers for The Amber Spyglass.  
> Hope you all enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly angst and filling an external prompt (not related to HDM).  
> Chapter title from The Amber Spyglass

Lee wasn’t sure how long it had been since Lyra had arrived at the world of the dead. He was also unsure of the general passage of time since his own passing. While it was daunting to think of his life in the past tense, he couldn’t ever imagine doing so without Hester. And so, he had slowly counted every second – or what seemed to be seconds in a space where time looped around and wove through the world in a confusing web of knots that made no sense whatsoever – he’d been separated from his dear soul.

(Elsewhere, a Scholar would propose that the dead lay beyond the influence of time in a world different from all the rest. This, condemned for heresy, would unfortunately prove false by the time the Scholar joined the ranks of the dead.)

Lee wasn’t even sure he existed in physical form anymore. His very being appeared to be nothing more than a manifestation of his consciousness, perhaps in lieu of his dæmon.

“Mr. Scoresby?” Lyra called. He looked up from his careful guard at her. Her face was gaunt in the meagre light, and blood had soaked through the bandage near her temple. The fire in her eyes that he’d always seen, burning with curiosity and defiance, now was awfully dim, though steely determination glinted brightly enough for him to regain some hope in this dank and dismal place.

“Yeah?”

“Did I ever tell you what happened after I fell out of the balloon?”

He felt something swoop in his chest, but it couldn’t have been his still heart. Hell, he hadn’t seen Iorek since before Svalbard, had only barely heard news of him from Serafina Pekkala. He shook his head.

“No,” was all he said.

Lyra launched into what was admittedly an enthralling tale that sufficiently distracted him from the gut-wrenching despair that had seeped through every corner of this place. The boy next to her, with the knife, smiled slightly at her retelling, particularly when she reached the part when she met him, and Lee sneaked a look at John. John caught the glance and shrugged lightly, looking enraptured with the story.

Lee let himself relax, though he was still cautious of where they were headed, and listen to the rest of her story about how Lord Asriel had managed to create a doorway into other worlds with a frightening explosion. He let his darling child who he’d come to care for within days of meeting her, whose brazen tongue and artless charm had stolen his heart and any paternal affection he hadn’t known he had to give. When her voice, hoarse from the chatter, faded away, all he could say was, “You _tricked_ Iofur Raknisson?”

She nodded vigorously, and he was glad to see that she’d gained back some of her sprightliness after sinking into her element of telling stories.

“It seems strange, I know, because you can’t normally trick a bear. But Iofur didn’t want to be a bear, see, he wanted to be a human, but that en’t possible, so the Gobblers – the Oblation Board – were able to fool him and say that it was. He wanted a dæmon and everything, so I pretended I was Iorek’s.”

Lee blinked, and beside him, John looked no less confused. Lee had to admit that that was some impressive amount of logic involved, as well as utter nonsense she’d strung together into a convincing argument. He wasn’t entirely surprised; Lyra was the only one he knew who could pull off the most impossible plans without many lasting consequences. He could never be prouder.

Soon enough, too soon enough for Lee, they reached the spot that connected them to the world where they could set the dead free. He sighed wistfully, knowing that he would only a few hours or so left with her, a majority of which he would spend fighting a war beyond any dimension he was capable of imagining.

It was all worth it, in the end, because it meant that the universe would still be there at the end of the day, and Lyra would return to a safer home. And, he thought, he’d finally be with Hester again.


	2. Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from The Amber Spyglass.  
> Here's the happy ending!

Lyra’s heart ached with all that had happened in the last day. She’d known sorrow before, but the only word that she could use to describe what she felt right now was _heartsick_. She clutched Pan tightly to her, not caring that his claws dug into her arm, nearly drawing blood with the force. She was simply glad to have found him so soon, that she didn’t have to count Pan among all those she’d lost in different ways in the last day alone.

She stroked his fur absently, staring at the light reflecting off the water. The gyptians’ boat was waiting at the harbour, but she couldn’t bring herself to board it yet. It wasn’t set to leave yet, anyway. So she stood and remembered all those who had shown her kindness, who she’d grown to love since the start of her journey. A tear slipped down her cheek.

She pulled out the alethiometer sadly, and Pan leaned over the crook of her elbow to peek at it. “We will learn to read it again,” he said.

“Of course.” But she was already releasing Pan, who scurried up to her shoulder, and moving the three needles. If she did so slower than she would have done before and with more caution, neither of them mentioned it. She did her best to enter the trance-like state that she used to slip into without a hitch mere days ago before stopping, breathing sharply, and trying again with more success.

This time, reading the alethiometer was more like her past readings. The needle’s movement was surer and had more meaning – perhaps less obvious to her now, but she could guess the meaning. It made no sense, but who was she to doubt the very thing she’d managed to save, the heart of her universe, the device that had never once failed her? She looked up to Pan, back at the alethiometer, and stored it carefully back where she’d kept it safe under her jacket.

She turned around slowly, just as the wind blew lightly around her. Pantalaimon hopped off her shoulder and pattered over to a small mound by the trees, nudging it – no, _her_ , for the mound was a hare-shaped dæmon she knew very well –

She spun around wildly, scanning the area for the human, before Lee stepped out from behind a tree with a soft groan. Lyra cried out and ran over to him, tossing her arms around him. Lee staggered back a few steps but returned her embrace just as fiercely, just as firmly. She noticed that he was trembling and stepped away slightly, assessing him carefully.

He was pale, so much more so than the last time she’d seen him before the land of the dead, and seemed more jumpy than he normally would be. Lyra couldn’t blame his disorientation, because she didn’t quite understand how he could be here either. She felt like crying, but held back her tears. Instead, she settled for a single smile.

Lee smiled back, shakily, a pale imitation of his grins from the days she’d talk his ear off about anything under the sun (and Northern Lights), but a smile nonetheless. “Hey, kid,” he said, and this time she did burst into tears. She didn’t hesitate to hug him again, and he was prepared this time, and rocked back and forth slightly. He didn’t say anything, didn’t shush or try to comfort her, knowing that it would be unwelcome.

At last, when she pulled away, she dried her eyes and glanced over at Pan, who was in low conversation with Hester, whose ears twitched occasionally, the only sign of the distress they felt.

“We should head for the boats,” Lyra said, and Lee nodded. He didn’t let go of her at all except to scoop up Hester and hold her close to his heart. Pantalaimon hopped up Lyra’s side onto her shoulder and curled up by the crook of her neck.

“Lyra, do you know how I…”

Lyra shook her head. “The alethiometer said something about… things changing now, and it meant you, but it didn’t say how.”

Lee nodded again. “Probably shouldn’t think too much about it.”

Lyra inched closer to his side, and he pulled his arm securely around her shoulder. She agreed, it was likely for the best not to question the forces that had for once managed to bring a person back to life, especially someone she cared for immensely.

“The gyptians are heading for Oxford,” she said softly. “To take me back.”

“I’ll come with,” he replied. He’d stopped trembling, Lyra noticed, which was good. “Don’t have my balloon anymore, so I can’t fly.”

Lyra hummed in sympathy. Still, as they boarded the boat, she couldn’t help but wonder if he couldn’t stay in Oxford with her…


End file.
